The Bharat Army is now supposedly 62,000 strong, and made their debut at the World Cup in 2003. Established by Shailan Tank, Sukhwinder Nijjar, Harvinder Mann and Rakesh Patel, the army have been a regular presence at India matches since. The Desimators, who claim a membership of 2,000, came into being in September 2003 as a platform for fans to watch and
support Indian sport. In addition to cricket tours of Australia and Pakistan, they have also been to Malaysia before for the F-1 race at Sepang. They were also involved with the organisation of the Bradman Cup, India's first Twenty20 tournament.

Satish Viswanathan, formerly a cricket correspondent for Deccan Herald and
also Rahul Dravid's captain when in school, is now involved with the
Desimators, continuing the recent trend of tour groups tying up with
former players or journalists. The ill-fated Sri Lankan tour had seen the
Sachin Army from Mumbai, accompanied by Dwarkanath Sanzgiri, a noted
Marathi journalist.

With the Barmy Army and Australia's Fanatics so well established, it was
inevitable that India's supporters would follow suit. And given how 10,000
of them silenced Bay 13 on an unforgettable Boxing Day in 2003 - Virender
Sehwag slammed 195 in five hours - it won't be long before the likes of
the Bharat Army and the Desimators eclipse the opposition, at least in the
cacophony stakes.